UK Online Gaming Market to Continue Growth Despite POC Tax

Online gaming market in UK on the rise despite Point of Consumption tax.

Britain’s online gaming industry is set to continue its strong growth over the next two years, the latest report by GamblingCompliance Research Services (GCRS) has suggested.

The leading provider of business intelligence for the gaming industry has issued a new report which estimates that the net gaming revenue (NGR) of the UK online market rose to £2.31bn last year, which is a 12.2 per cent increase.

The report further states that online gambling revenues will increase 11.4 per cent to £2.58bn in the current year before climbing another 10 per cent to £2.83bn in 2015 and 13.6 per cent in 2016.

GCRS’s estimates are even more impressive when we take into account that all gaming companies operating in the United Kingdom will be subject to a 15 per cent Point of Consumption tax on all bets placed online in the UK, with the Treasury expected to collect around £400 million in the first year.

Point of Consumption Tax Not Affecting Market Growth

Gambling Compliance head of data content, Daniel Stone is confident that the growth of the online gambling market will continue in spite of the Point of Consumption (POC) tax, but he expects the competition between leading gaming operators to be fiercer than ever.

“Britain’s online gambling market has enjoyed an uninterrupted run of double-digit annual growth since the turn of the century – and this looks likely to continue into the first two years of the POC regime.

“But the market share analysis contained in the report shows just how crowded the online space is in the UK. With companies forced to reassess their business models in light of the imminent tax hit, the fight for new customers and share of wallet has never been more intense.”

William Hill and bet365 Battle for Supremacy

According to the report released last week, William Hill remains Britain’s leading online gaming operator, accounting for 14.5 per cent of the total market last year, although their position is no longer undisputed, given that bet365 has increased its overall share by 2.4 per cent to 13.7 per cent in 2013.

Meanwhile, the Stoke-based gaming company are still the top of the UK sports betting market, with their net gaming revenue in 2013 standing at over £1bn, while William Hill comes second having dislodged Betfair from the runners up position.

The latest data, however, suggests that the world’s largest betting exchange has seriously improved their results on the back of a very successful World Cup.

While online poker and online bingo remain on the downtrend, the online casino vertical continues to be on the rise, with UK online casino NGR expected to rise between 13 and 15 per cent from £621m in 2013 to £927m in 2016.